The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

       Though having to stay inside for most of the day is quite boring and has taken a lot of opportunities away from us, it has given me a lot of time. Usually I can use this time to do work or just relax a bit more, but I also get more time to find books in the home that I haven’t had a chance to read. One of these books is The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I don’t exactly remember where I got this book from, but I’m going to assume it was from a book fair in the 5th grade because that’s where I got a lot of books from.

       The One and Only Ivan is a unique novel based somewhat on a true story that follows Ivan, a Silverback gorilla that has been put in a glass display cage for most of his life at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. The story is told from the point of view of Ivan in which he expresses his own thoughts about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But Ivan mostly thinks about art and how to capture things like the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and drawings. He barely even cares or thinks about his old life in the jungle. However, one day, a baby elephant named Ruby is taken from her home and brought to the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Eventually the two begin to connect and Ruby makes Ivan see their old homes through new eyes. At the same time, big changes are coming to the mall and Ivan has to protect Ruby as things begin to get chaotic.

       I left the summary on a bit of a cliffhanger there because this book is definitely worth reading and it will take you very little time. The thing that makes this book so unique is that Applegate tried to really capture the experience of what it would be like for a character like Ivan, who is a gorilla, to narrate. Ivan’s narration of his life is really simple but also honest, tender and very innocent. Ivan’s narration involves the use of very simple sentence structures and even some simple rhymes too. It’s written in such a way that it’s almost like Ivan is keeping a diary. There are no chapters, but at the top of every few pages, it will say something like “angry”, or “mud”. These headers represent the topic that Ivan talks about for a brief moment. It’s almost like reading a child narrate the experiences they have to go through, which I find very unique.

       Overall, I think The One and Only Ivan is a great read. The only problem I could see people having with it is that the language is very simple (as it's supposed to imitate a gorilla’s thoughts). However, if you look past that, it’s a very quick, but touching read. I would give it 11.5/13 bologna slices.